


An Aversion To Exercise

by learashi



Series: Pet! Arashi [3]
Category: Arashi (Band), Johnny's Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe, Domestic Fluff, Gen, adopted pet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 13:50:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18367295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/learashi/pseuds/learashi
Summary: When Jun’s roommate unexpectedly leaves, Jun inherits his abandoned pet. For the first time in Jun’s life, and to his great surprise, he finds an animal which actually likes him.





	An Aversion To Exercise

**Author's Note:**

> Back to my beloved Sakumoto for this one. I am having an insanely large amount of fun writing these 😀. I hope that you guys are having just as much fun reading them.

Jun rubbed his eyes and rested his head hopelessly on his desk. Since his roommate’s departure he’d had trouble sleeping. It wasn’t that he missed him in particular, it was more the fact that he hated being alone. Even though he had tried advertising for a replacement, in the middle of a semester it was near to impossible to find anyone looking for a room.  
  
To compensate for his inability to sleep, Jun was spending more time studying than ever before and his grades had already shown a marked improvement. One of his professors had even offered him the opportunity to work with him on his latest research project. This meant that Jun was even more tired when he returned to his tiny apartment, offering greetings to an empty room and receiving no welcome in return.  
  
He would prepare a simple meal before falling into bed and hoping for sleep to claim him, but his mind refused to rest, filled to the brim with all of the happenings of the day. Jun longed for someone to talk to, but he could hardly call his friends at one in the morning to discuss a funny incident from twelve hours ago.  
  
A faint rustling woke Jun from his daze, reminding him that he wasn't entirely alone. A pair of bright black button eyes gazed out at him from the cage in the corner as two tiny paws gripped the bars propping a small brown and white body up clear from a soft layer of bedding. The small rodent emitted a chirp of greeting.  
  
Jun walked over to the cage, allowing the sleek little hamster to climb onto the palm of his hand. “Hi Sho-chan.”  
  
Jun’s roommate had dropped out of school and out of the apartment in the same day. The first Jun had known of it was when he’d come home and most of the furniture was gone, except for the hamster cage sitting on the coffee table. It seemed that his ex-roommate had left a note, but unfortunately too close to the hamster cage. All that was left of it was a scrap of paper with a hastily scribbled signature. The rest had been shredded and scattered around his cage by the hamster, who sat gazing at Jun with an air of nonchalance. All enquiries regarding roommate’s whereabouts had led Jun to a dead end, since even his phone was cut off. Jun presumed that these details had been contained on the piece of paper which was now lining the hamster’s living quarters.  
  
Animals had never been kind to Jun. Most attempts to befriend them ended up with his blood being spilled. But the small hamster he’d named Sho had taken an instant liking to Jun after being abandoned by his original owner. Jun suspected that this was because at first he had no idea about the care of hamsters and over fed the small rodent until he looked like a furry ball with ears.  
  
Even now, the little hamster was still too chubby, and apparently had stashed some extra food in his cheek pouches. His tiny face was almost as round as his circular body. “Sho-chan, have you been hoarding food again?”  
  
The hamster blinked innocently up at Jun, even as his bulging cheeks gave him away.  
  
Jun carried Sho-chan over to the kitchen where a small white paper bag was sitting. He opened the bag and displayed the contents to Sho. “Since you’ve been good lately I bought you some sunflower seeds. But since you’ve been cheating on your diet, I'm just going to have to put them away for now.”  
  
The chubby hamster squeaked indignantly, wriggling in Jun’s grasp as he attempted to reach the seeds. His tiny paws flailed in mid-air as he despairingly watched his favourite food disappear into the pantry cupboard.  
  
Jun stroked Sho’s soft fur, tickling him behind his small round ears, “I'm sorry little fella. I'm not being deliberately mean. I'm simply trying to keep you healthy.”  
  
Sho stopped wriggling, snuggling into the palm of Jun’s hand as he enjoyed the attention.  
  
In an attempt to slim down the hamster, a wheel had been installed in Sho’s cage, but the plump rodent had ignored it completely. Sho only began to slim down after Jun’s purchase of a small clear globe in which Sho could travel around the apartment floor by himself. Jun now carried Sho over to his ball and gently placed him inside. “How about a couple of laps around the living room while I finish my assignment?”  
  
Sho took a few steps, rolling the ball a couple of centimetres across the polished floor. He then stopped, looking up at Jun hopefully, emitting a questioning squeak.  
  
Jun laughed at his pet’s antics, shaking his head. “No way Sho-chan. That definitely doesn't count.”  
  
As Jun returned to his work, Sho got into his stride, trundling his ball across the floor, pausing now and then to snack on the food he had hidden in his cheeks. Jun sighed; it seemed as if the little hamster won every time.  
  
Immersed in his studies, Jun forgot that Sho-chan was still in his ball until he felt a nudge against his ankle. When he looked down, he realised that the exercise ball was bouncing lightly up against his ankle bone and the little hamster was looking up at him through the clear plastic.  
  
Immediately Jun bent down and picked up the ball, freeing his pet. “Sorry Sho-chan. I lost track of time. “  
  
“Squeak!” The hamster might be small but his reply was quite emphatic, clearly expressing his displeasure at being left in the ball for over half an hour.  
  
Feeling guilty, Jun smoothed Sho’s fur. “Sorry again, but you were supposed to exercise for at least thirty minutes anyway, and it’s not as if you didn’t have a sneaky snack while you were doing it.”  
  
Jun carried Sho over to his cage and popped him back in, making sure that the door was closed firmly behind him. The hamster still seemed unhappy, so Jun decided to offer him a little treat. He went into the kitchen and rummaged in the refrigerator, before returning to the cage, where Sho was still squeaking unhappily. “Peace offering?”  
  
Sho jumped across the cage eager to see what Jun had given him. He froze in place as he took in the carrot stick Jun had stuck between the bars. With a squeaky chirp of disgust he pushed the carrot with all of the strength he had, shooting it out from where it was wedged and onto the floor. With a final squeak of anger he turned away and buried himself under the bedding material until only the tip of his nose was visible.  
  
Torn between laughter at his pet’s cute behaviour and feeling bad for the little hamster, Jun decided to relent. He retrieved the bag of sunflower seeds from the pantry and offered one through the bars. Immediately Sho unrolled himself and scuttled across the cage, snatching the seed from Jun’s fingers. His little button eyes glittered with triumph as he sat and devoured his prize.  
  
Jun smiled and headed off to bed, feeling a great deal less lonely than he had earlier. “Good night Sho-chan. Have a fun night.”  
  
Sho chirped happily in response, climbing into his wheel and taking a few tentative steps.  
  
Pausing in the doorway to his bedroom, Jun looked back at Sho, smiling in satisfaction. Just as he’d predicted, it appeared that the little hamster’s appetite for potential sunflower seeds outweighed his aversion to exercise.


End file.
